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Story
Novelist
Richard Yates tried for years to bring his 1961
story of marital trouble in ‘50s suburbia to
the screen but died before seeing it finally come
to fruition in the form of this scorching adaptation
by writer Justin Haythe. April (Kate Winslet) and
Frank Wheeler (Leonardo DiCaprio) are young marrieds,
living what appears to be the ideal life in the
Connecticut of the 1950s. He has a nice job, she
is a mother of two with dreams of an acting career.
But beneath the surface is a lingering dissatisfaction
with their lives; Frank is having an affair with
an office worker (Zoe Kazan), and April is terribly
unhappy with the way her life is turning out. They
engage in ferocious arguments, constantly disproving
the idea they are the perfect couple. One day April
decides the answer to all their problems is to move
to Paris and start over. Frank initially agrees,
but the relationship goes downhill even further
from there and things spiral out of control.
Acting
Revolutionary
Road’s brilliant ensemble ignites and delivers
on just about every level imaginable. Kate Winslet,
who seemingly can do no wrong these days, is heartbreakingly
good as a housewife who foreshadows the feminist
movement. Her April is an ambitious, confused
woman tragically living a couple of beats ahead
of her time. Leonardo DiCaprio gives his finest
film performance as a man who knows he is not
living up to his potential but seems to be in
a state of denial trying, almost pathetically,
to keep what’s left of his marriage and family
together. It’s the subtext and unspoken words
between them that really give power to these tremendously
effective performances. After the first 10 minutes,
you will be so mesmerized by their raw, naked
acting you will forget you are watching the two
young stars who first appeared together in Titanic
a decade earlier. Kathy Bates as a cheerful real
estate agent with her own family problems is also
quite good, as is Michael Shannon, as her disturbed
grown son who seems to know more about the sad
state of the Wheelers home life than anyone realizes.
He should be a frontrunner for the supporting
actor Oscar if there is any justice. Also blending
in nicely are Kathryn Hahn and David Harbour as
neighbors who are the polar opposite of Frank
and April.
Direction
Sam
Mendes, who won an Oscar for directing yet another
stinging view of suburbia with his Oscar-winning
American Beauty does another great job of bringing
out the essence of what Yates says about a generation
hiding behind a façade of happiness but
living on the cusp of great, profound social change.
Mendes lets long dialogue scenes play out, packing
them with riveting moments. His filmmaking style
should be savored for the insights it provides
and the emotional challenges it presents. Mendes
also manages to get an extraordinary portrayal
of suburban angst from his real-life wife Winslet.
Not since Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton
battled so brazenly in 1966’s Who's Afraid
of Virginia Woolf has there been a wounded couple’s
marriage so deeply and poignantly exposed on screen.
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